Shepton Mallet is a small town in Somerset, perhaps best known as the home of Babycham. The old Showerings factories have recently been sold to Magners Cider, so perhaps Shepton will once more be home to the drink 'of the moment'!

Shepton is a major crossroads for A roads in eastern Somerset, with the North-South A37 and East-West A361 meeting at Cannard's Grave to the south of the town. The A371 also passes through the town on its way across the county from Weston-super-Mare to Wincanton.

History

Shepton in 1959

The most obvious difference from today's layout is that the A361 still passes through the town - it hasn't yet been diverted south to Cannard's Grave and so through East Compton. The old route is now part of an extended B3136, which itself started life as the A37. If you look more closely, you will also notice that the B3136 and A371 have been slightly diverted in the town centre to avoid the narrow High Street, although the A361 still crosses the High Street (as a spur!), to meet the A371 a little to the west of the crossroads shown in 1959.